Green light for heritage centre in Cork

A €10m heritage and visitor centre which will transform the site of education pioneer Nano Nagle’s first convent has been given the green light.

It is hoped that work on the ambitious Nano Nagle Place project which will preserve and develop the Presentation Congregation’s historic South Presentation Centre in Cork city could begin within weeks.

The plan, which was approved by city council planners last July, was appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Local resident Bernadette O’Sullivan argued against the removal of a community garden within the convent and loss of green space arising from the construction of a café.

But planning inspector Mairead Kenny said the development will “secure new functions for this important complex of buildings and spaces and will protect the character and secure the condition of the buildings for centuries to come”.

“The revised design and location of the café and the nearby landscaped areas appropriately balances the needs of visitors, enhances and integrates open spaces and protects the tranquil atmosphere at the graveyard,” she said.

Jim Corr, chairman of the project’s board of directors, welcomed the decision.

“This is a very important project — and not just for Cork,” he said.

“There are now more Presentation Sisters around the world than there are in Ireland, so this will be a world project. It is going to cost well over €10m and will be funded by the sisters from all over the world,” he said.

Local Cllr Mick Finn said the project could have a “transformative impact” in the area.

“The city council must now step up to the plate and invest in the public realm in and around this historic and important site. This would also complement the proposed event centre development nearby,” he said.

Nano Nagle, who founded the order in Cork in 1775, is buried within the 3.75-acre South Presentation site.

She was born into a wealthy Catholic family near Mallow in 1718 but after her father’s death, she devoted her life to helping the poor, and by the time of her death in 1784 at the age of 66, over 400 children were being taught in her network of school across seven parishes in Cork city.

Pope Francis bestowed the title of Venerable on her in October 2013 — the second of four steps to Canonisation.